Airport cargo village fire originated from short circuit: report

“The fire at the HSIA’s cargo village was not an act of sabotage. It originated from an electrical short circuit,” referring to the probe report, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said at a briefing at the Foreign Service Academy here this afternoon.

The home secretary handed over the probe report to the Chief Adviser, he said, adding, later, the report was discussed at the Council of Advisers’ meeting today.

Shafiqul Alam also said that the inquiry committee found that 48 small iron-cage offices had been set up inside the courier shed for various agencies but there were no basic fire safety measures like fire alarms, smoke detectors, sprinklers or hydrants.

The press secretary said that the report also noted that flammable materials, including cloth rolls wrapped in polythene, chemicals, compressed perfume bottles, body sprays, electronics, batteries, and pharmaceutical raw materials, were piled up haphazardly without complying with safety regulations.

The committee took oral and written testimonies of 97 witnesses and came to the conclusion that the fire originated in the northwest corner of the extended courier shed from an electrical arc followed by a short circuit.

Experts from Turkey, BUET, fire safety professionals, and CID forensic investigators helped find the cause.

The probe committee revealed that seven major fires occurred at the site since 2013—many of which were never widely reported, Shafiqul Alam said, adding, despite these incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAAB) has no institutional capacity regarding fire prevention or response systems.

The body suggested establishing an independent airport operations authority responsible for maintenance and safety while the CAAB should function strictly as a regulator.

It also suggested ensuring safety standards for all key installations following internal standards, keeping Bangladesh Biman Airlines’ role limited to flight operations only and entrusting a skilled operator appointed by CAAB with ground-handling and other activities.

The body also suggested taking measures to set up a special-category fire station for Biman within the quickest possible time and relocating hazardous chemicals and dangerous goods warehouses following international safety standards, reports BSS. 

It also recommended creating a dedicated customs warehouse for auctionable goods at appropriate locations and prohibiting any form of goods storage on the airport apron areas.

The fire broke out at the Cargo Village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) on October 18.